Taqasim: Improvisation in Arabic Music

by Ali Jihad Racy & Simon Shaheen

Taqasim: Improvisation in Arabic Music cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: January 1991
  • Label: Lyrichord
  • Country: United States
  • Length: 42:23
  • Community rating: 3.91/5 from 4 ratings

Album Notes & Community Reviews

Two master musicians living in the United States deliver an exquisite, entirely acoustic exploration of the Arabic taqasim (melodic improvisation) format. The interplay between Simon Shaheen's oud and Ali Jihad Racy's buzuq creates a warm, complex, and deeply hypnotic listening experience that honors classical Middle Eastern traditions.

Genres

Descriptors: improvisation, instrumental, complex, melodic, strings, traditional, virtuosic, acoustic, folk, rhythmic

Tracklist

  1. Maqam Kurd (20:25)
  2. Maqam Nahawand (13:17)
  3. Maqam Bayyati (8:55)

Credits

  • Ali Jihad Racy - primary artist, bouzouki
  • Simon Shaheen - primary artist, oud

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